Kal Yafai | "All the years of hard work and all the sacrifices made all become worth it in the moment when you hear “AND NEW!!!"

Kal Yafai is a professional boxer born in Birmingham, England. He has been highly successful at both the amateur and professional level of boxing. A boastful pro record of 26-1-0, with 15 of them wins being KO’s. Even fighting at the super flyweight, he has an incredible punching power to complement his momentous boxing skill.

Starting his boxing training at a young age, Kal was named the ‘Junior Sportsman of the Year’ by BBC Midlands. He also qualified for the 2008 Olympic team. At the 2010 European Championships, he won the silver medal and was named "Young Boxer of the Year" by the British website BoxRec in the same year. In his professional career he has held the Commonwealth Super-Flyweight Title, IBF Inter-Continental Super-Flyweight Title, British Super-Flyweight Title, WBA Inter-Continental Super-Flyweight Title and the WBA World Super-Flyweight Title.

Kal was British boxing’s longest reigning world champion. He was unbeaten in 26 fights until Roman Gonzalez handed him his first defeat and took away his Super-Flyweight World Title in February of 2020.

An incredible record, any fights that stick out as your favourite or most memorable?

Thank you. Winning the world title in Manchester in front of a packed crowd on a PPV card. A night I’ll never forget.

You represented Great Britain at the Beijing Olympics in 2008, how was that experience and competing in one of the biggest sporting events in the world?

I was always a 2012 target so qualifying for 2008 was a huge bonus. The experience was great. The Olympics is a huge occasion. Although I didn’t medal it gave me great experience.

What was the moment and feeling like winning a world title?

An unbelievable experience that is hard to explain. All the years of hard work and all the sacrifices made all become worth it in the moment when you hear “AND NEW!!!”.

How hard is it to make weight for a fight?

That is the hardest part! The strict diet for months before and the final cut can be difficult but is all worth it.

What advice would you have to the younger generation just getting into boxing or wanting to go pro?

Boxing is brilliant for keeping fit, getting fit & weight loss. But as a profession. Boxing is no joke. You have to take it very serious & you need to be smart. Have the right people around you that care for your well-being and your future.